Marley Ostrander scores five goals for the Red Raiders
OCEAN CITY — Holy Spirit’s girls lacrosse team matched the Red Raiders goal for goal through three quarters of the Cape-Atlantic League championship game Thursday night at Carey Stadium, keeping the outcome in doubt until the final minutes.
After Ocean City High School’s girls finally got a two-goal lead in the fourth quarter and were able to play keep-away to hold off the Spartans in the last two minutes was it clear the Red Raiders were headed to their fourth-consecutive CAL title.
“This game made us better,” Ocean City head coach Lesley Graham said after the final whistle. “As we head into state playoffs, what great momentum to take with us. It’s always a battle when we play Holy Spirit.”
The Raiders defeated the Spartans twice in the regular season, first by a large margin but the second time by just one goal. It was clear the Spartans were fired up offensively.
“Just like other teams, they progressively get better as the season goes on, they make adjustments and they give us everything they’ve got every time we play them,” Graham said of Holy Spirit. “And it’s a testament to them and their team and the talent that they have.”
She added it is a testament as well “to our kids and their ability to play our game and stay in our own world and do our own thing. You know, we were lucky to come out on top.”
Marley Ostrander was the scoring machine for the Red Raiders, tallying five of the team’s goals in the 8-6 victory.
The sophomore scored the first goal on a penalty shot to give Ocean City a 1-0 lead. Freshman Marley Dwyer made it 2-0 after the Holy Spirit goalie Marissa Gras stopped a shot by Ryan Cooke. Dwyer was able to get the rebound and put it past her with 8:30 left in the quarter.
Forty-five seconds later, the Spartans got on the board and then Savanah Cooke tied the game 2-2.
Ostrander got her second goal for Ocean City to reclaim the lead but Spartan Grace Marczyk tied it again, 3-3. Ostrander, however, earned the hat trick in the first quarter, which ended 4-3.
Holy Spirit tied it up again in the second quarter, and the teams entered halftime at 5-5 courtesy of Taylor Lyons goal.
The Raiders and Spartans each scored a goal in the third quarter to make it 6-6.
Dwyer scored again in the fourth quarter. She was rebuffed by the Spartan goalie on a penalty shot, but was able to pick up the loose ball to give Ocean City a 7-6 lead, and with just under five minutes left in the Raiders made it 8-6.
Although Spirit threatened, they couldn’t score on their attempts and then the Raiders went into their stall, passing the ball around to run out the clock before the horn went off and the girls on the sidelines charged onto the field to celebrate with their teammates.
In addition to Ostrander’s five goals, Dwyer had two and Cooke one. Marczyk had two for Spirit, while Lyons, Cooke, Riley McNulty and Brielle Soltys had one each. Gras made three saves for Holy Spirit and goalie Aliza Otton had four saves for the Red Raiders.
Ostrander said she felt “really good” about the five-goal performance and the team win but gave credit to her teammates for setting her up.
“We were moving the ball really well and finding the open cutters,” she said. With two more years to play, she is “definitely” hoping for two more CAL titles to go with the four straight the team has now.
Defender Faith Pacquing said it took a team effort to keep Holy Spirit off the scoreboard late.
“We relied on one another and that pushed us to achieve success and win and put ourselves two goals ahead and win the game,” she said. “This was a a tight game. Holy Spirit’s a great competitor every time. They always push us to be a better team. I think they really gave us a run for our money and they push us to be a better team.”
One of the seniors on the team, she was excited about the consecutive titles.
“It’s awesome to end the CAL on a win as a senior and have my fourth CAL championship under my belt,” Pacquing said, “but now we’re on to states and it’ll be exciting.”
Dwyer, who earned her first CAL title, was equally excited.
“Oh, my God, it means everything. I loved how we could start it off strong. My freshman year, we come here, and we win a CAL championship,” Dwyer said. “I love it. And I’m hopeful we can do it for the next four years.”
She credited their opponents.
“Holy Spirit is a very good team. They’re very competitive, they’re very gritty and they’re a great competition,” Dwyer said.
She added that she loves the camaraderie of the Raider girls lacrosse team.
“I really think that we’re a family; we’re more than just a team. I love all the girls that we play with and I feel like it really shows when we play on the field. We’re all just great friends,” Dwyer said.
Coach Graham said her team had to adjust to Holy Spirit’s solid play in the draw circle.
“That was one adjustment we needed to make to be able to get possession because when we had possession, we knew we were going to be able to get the looks that we wanted,” she said. “We came up with some huge third- and fourth-quarter draws, and it was everybody. It wasn’t necessarily our typical circle people. It was balls going behind the line, and we put defensive players on there to just really kind of disrupt what it was that they were trying to do.
“Kudos to our kids for being able to adjust in the game and come out with the win,” she said.
Asked about Ostrander’s performance, Graham said her player is both an athlete and a lacrosse player.
“A lot of the times, it’s one or the other. Like, they’re a really good laxer, but maybe, like not super athletic, or they’re like a really great athlete, but they don’t have a stick,” she said. Ostrander “combines those two things together.
“This is a big summer for her recruiting-wise because it’s going into her junior year, and I expect big things out of her moving forward in her high school career,” Graham said.
The Raiders finished with a perfect 10-0 record in the American Division and are 13-5 overall. Spirt is 6-4 in the division and 11-7 overall.
Ocean City is the No. 4 seed in the South Jersey Group III sectional tournament and opens May 29 at home against No. 13 Jackson Memorial. Moorestown and Cherry Hill West are the No. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively. Shawnee is ranked No. 3. The Mainland girls (10-7, 8-2 American Division) are the No. 5 seed and face No. 12 Steinart on May 29.
If Ocean City and Mainland win, they would face each other Monday, June 2, at Ocean City in the quarterfinals. The Raiders beat the Mustangs 11-7 and 10-3 in the regular season.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
